Life Is Not a Straight Line. It’s a Spiral.

We don’t simply repeat the same experiences—we revisit themes from a new level of awareness. 

One of the things I love about astrology is how it gives me a way to reflect on my own growth. Planetary transits offer us a continual way to track our spiraling journey—showing us when familiar themes, challenges, and opportunities for growth return.

When I look back at old charts and recognize that I’m once again standing at a familiar juncture, I'm reminded that I haven't necessarily made a wrong turn. I've entered a new phase in the spiral of my life, and now it's time to grow from a new experience in a way that I couldn't have before.

There is something reassuring about realizing that we are not simply repeating old patterns. We are returning to familiar places with greater awareness and the opportunity to make different choices.

The spiral symbol has always held deep meaning for me. Ever since I studied abroad in New Zealand and unexpectedly encountered this symbol hanging from a black necklace cord, I’ve felt a strange and lasting connection to it.

There is something beautiful about the way it moves—ever evolving back upon itself, never really ending, but continuing its journey onward… circling back toward a familiar point without ever bringing us exactly to where we once were.

I’ve intuitively felt that life is like a spiral, as I’m sure many of you have, too. It’s a beautiful metaphor for why we keep revisiting similar themes with different people, in new places, and at different stages of our lives.

There is something reassuring about knowing that each of us will come back around to pivotal moments in time. But where those moments affect us is different, and how we respond to them—based on what else is unfolding in our lives—is different, too.

For example, approximately every 29.5 years, we experience our Saturn Return. But where we experience these life changes depends on where Saturn sits in our natal chart.

Saturn has earned the reputation of the “taskmaster”—always applying pressure to help us grow and mature. But Saturn also brings us into profound periods of responsibility, self-definition, and a deeper understanding of what we are made of.

Then there is Jupiter, whose qualities and evolutionary agenda are quite different from Saturn’s. Where Saturn asks us to build, mature, and take responsibility, Jupiter invites us to expand, explore, and trust what is possible.

When Jupiter is activated, I often think of the phrase, “Seize the day!” because doors begin opening and opportunities abound. Sometimes we must step outside our comfort zones and take a leap of faith, but Jupiter reminds us that it is time to take action.

Jupiter gives us confidence and encourages us to think bigger—to expand our sense of what we previously believed was possible.

Another major planetary cycle occurs between the ages of 40 and 44: the Uranus Opposition. This powerful midpoint in the human journey can awaken a desire for greater freedom, authenticity, and change.

Astrology as a Signpost

All of these cycles don't necessarily tell us what will happen. Instead, they can act as signposts, giving us an opportunity to pause and ask:

Where am I now?

What am I being invited to see?

What has changed since I was here before?

A Saturn Return at 29 is not the same Saturnian territory we may encounter later in life. A Jupiter Return at 36 is not the same as the one we experienced at 24.

The cycle repeats. But we are growing.

There have been so many times in my own life when I’ve felt like I was moving backward, only to realize that I was experiencing an important planetary cycle repeating itself.

What I was revisiting was something that needed closure, understanding, or the opportunity to try again under different circumstances.

So, we don’t need to judge ourselves when it feels like we’re circling back to old situations.

One of the gifts of recognizing our astrological cycles is that they remind us that growth doesn't always mean leaving something behind forever. Sometimes growth means returning to something familiar and discovering that we can meet it differently.

This is one of the reasons I find planetary returns so meaningful. They give us markers along the journey—moments when we can pause, reflect, and become more conscious of where we are and where life may be inviting us to go next.

A Jupiter Return might invite us to consider where life is asking us to expand.

A Saturn Return might ask us to take greater ownership of the life we are creating.

A Uranus Opposition might awaken the question: Is the life I'm living still an authentic expression of who I am becoming?

And there are many other cycles—Venus Returns, Mars Returns, Chiron Returns, and countless planetary transits—that create their own moments of reflection and renewal.

The value isn't necessarily in predicting what is going to happen. The value is in recognizing that we have arrived at another significant turn in the spiral.

And when we recognize where we are, we have the opportunity to become more conscious of how we choose to move forward.